Moon Wind
by Garnet Sky
Summary: Sam finds a picture of Danny in a book Clockwork has given her. Strange people are showing up calling Danny the "Lord of Light and Darkness". What is going on around here?
1. Lord of Light and Darkness

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Lord of Light and Darkness

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Sam stared at the scene. There was no denying it; it was Danny in that picture. He stood back-to-back with himself. One half of the picture depicted him wearing flowing black robes, with blue eyes and black hair. The other half depicted him with his familiar green eyes and snow-white hair and wearing white trousers and a white vest, a flowing white cape with emerald-gold embroidery completing the ensemble.

She traced the familiar lines of his face. The caption below read: _Lord of Light and Darkness_.

She knew the book was very old, having been given it by Clockwork on her sixteenth birthday. She reread the book's title: _Legends of the Ghost Zone._

* * *

(In the Ghost Zone)

"Aw, come on, Rose, move over already," a girl with pale skin, short spiky red hair and colorless eyes, said, shoving her sister aside. She was dressed completely in red, from her flannel shirt and jean shorts to the leather thong flip-flops she wore on her feet. She wore a black beaded headband in her hair and clear crystal earrings.

Her sister rolled her eyes. Rose was more quiet, wearing a subtle pink turn-of-the century dress and old-fashioned button-up black boots. "You're the one who is hogging the viewing portal, Rouge."

Crimson, the oldest sister, rolled her eyes. "Rose, Rouge, grow up sometime this century, please. We must find the Lord or the Spectrum will die."

"Yes, elder sister," the girls of the Lighter Spectrum chorused.

Crimson, like all her sisters, bore the colorless orbs of the Spectrum. Only the Lord of Light and Darkness had colored eyes. She wore a dark red tee-shirt and black jeans, with gold Grecian-style sandals. The only adornment she wore was the drop bloodcrystal necklace identifying her as a member of the Darker Spectrum.

All members of the Lighter and Darker Spectrums wore something black, showing their allegiance to the Lord of Light and Darkness.

"Still no luck finding him?" she asked, floating over to them.

"No, the mirror's just showing some ugly goth chick reading a book," Rouge said, smacking her gum.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Maybe we should expand the view?" she suggested.

Crimson nodded. "Good idea," she said, waving one hand lazily over the viewing portal.

* * *

(In our world)

Sam felt the temperature drop in the room. Turning towards the window, she grinned as her boyfriend phased through the glass doors leading to her balcony. His hair was kind of longish now that he'd grown it out to his shoulder blades; the funny thing was it was jet black in ghost form.

"Tough time getting away from your parents?" she teased, waiting to hear this latest explanation.

"Yeah, they invented a new machine that inverts the colors around a ghost when its present," he moaned, changing back to human. His hair turned white as new fallen snow.

Sam laughed. "From your current hair color, I'd say you got zapped."

He rolled his eyes. "It'll wear off in about an hour or so. I got zapped yesterday as well, by accident, in human form when Dad pulled the trigger."

"Bet your parents freaked out at the sudden hair color change," she grinned knowingly at the half-ghost.

He laughed. "They were at first, but they figured it had to do with the ectoplasmic residue radiating from the ghost portal."

"Want to watch a movie?" she asked. "I've got the D.N. Angel anime on DVD."

"Cool, I love Phantom Dark," he said, following her downstairs to the theater room.

* * *

(Ghost Zone)

"It's the Lord, alright," Rose murmured, wiping the scene away.

"Question is," Rouge growled, "How do we get him away from the Dark Spectrum girl? What color is she supposed to represent anyway?"

"I think Black," Crimson said, frowning. "But she has violet eyes, so she really can't be from the Light or Dark Spectrum. I think she's human."

"Human? But why would the Lord of Light and Darkness want to hang out with humans?" Rouge screeched.

"My ears!" Rose yelled, stomping her sister's foot.

"My foot!"

Crimson groaned and wished that their shift would be over soon. Let one of the other six triads deal with this mess.


	2. Lost Women

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Lost Women

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(Human World)

"Did you guys just see that?" Danny asked, seeing a red-haired girl duck out sight aroud a corner.

"See what?" Tucker asked, looking up from his PDA.

"Nothing," Danny said dropping his hand.

Sam frowned and filed this under "to be discussed later".

* * *

(In the Ghost Zone)

"He almost caught Rouge," Rose murmured, staring at the frozen scene.

"The Lord's getting suspicious," Soleil observed.

"I would be too if you'd sent that Lighter Spectrum girl after me," Vrondi added.

Rose turned and hit him upside the head. "Vrondi, there are times when I wonder why the Lord made you a member of the Spectrum."

"Because you love me," the man murmured, caressing Rose's short copper curls. "But Rouge needs to watch it or the Lord's going to catch her. And you remember what happened to the last member of the Spectrum who did that."

Soleil shuddered, remembering the poor screams of Lilac of the Purple Triad. She'd never been the same afterwards. "Don't remind me," she muttered.

"Uh, where is the Lord now?" Vrondi asked.

"Entering some type of human dwelling, I think," Rose said, peering at the mirror's image.

* * *

(Human World)

Danny moaned as his ghost sense went off for the second time that day. "Oh no," he moaned, seeing a red-haired girl spying on him from an alleyway. She quickly ducked out of sight when she saw him looking.

"Going ghost!" he yelled, summoning the rings.

( "Oh no!" Vrondi wailed, knowing the Lord's light form too well.)

Phantom shot after the ghost and was well rewarded when he caught up with her ten minutes later in another alleyway, several blocks away from FentonWorks. He looked her up and down, appraising her.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Rouge gulped. _He's in his Light form, but his clothing is of the wrong color _an_d style_.

Danny glared at the girl. Her eyes were the eyes of a blind person, but she could see. Short,spiky red hair, red jeans shorts and a red flannel type shirt that tied just below her breasts. She wore clear crystal earrings and a black beaded headband, along with a pair of red leather thong flip-flops. "You don't look like a ghost," he said, taking in her pale skin.

"I'm a member of the Lighter Spectrum," the girl said, bowing low, paling even further.

"Please, don't bow down like that," he told her, raising her to her feet.

"I'm sorry for spying on you, Lord," she apologized, knowing what was coming next.

"Danny, we got here as soon as we could," Tucker gasped, as he and Sam came running up.

("The humans called the Lord of Light and Darkness by his given name!" Rose gasped.)

Danny's ghost sense was triggered again. A girl, similar to the one on her knees, appeared kneeling in submission beside her.

"My Lord, forgive Rouge, please," she said, colorless orbs meeting his emerald ones. "We only sought to bring you home."

"I was home, when you triggered my ghost sense," Phantom glared at them.

"Who are you?" Sam demanded.

The other goth girl was silent.

"Answer Sam's question," Phantom told them.

"Yes, Lord," the girl bowed even lower. Her black hair shown in the sunlight like a raven's wing. "I am Crimson of the Darker Spectrum. This is Rouge of the Lighter Spectrum. We are of the Red Triad."

"Who sent you?" Danny asked.

"Lady Bright, Lord," came the reply.

"Who?"

"Your mother," came the response.

("We're in trouble now," Rose moaned.)

* * *

Author's Note:

(1) Soleil--female, Yellow Triad, Lighter Spectrum

(2) Vrondi--male, Blue Triad, Darker Spectrum

(3) Borrowed the term "vrondi" from Mercedes Lackey's Last Herald Mage trilogy.


	3. Angels of Fire

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Angels of Fire

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(Human World)

"His mother?" Sam and Tucker echoed, looking nervously around for Mrs. Fenton. They knew from past experience that she was more formidable than her husband when it came to fighting ghosts.

Danny folded his arms. "You're lying, ghost," he said, green eyes flashing. "My mother went to a ghost hunters' conference in Roswell yesterday."

(Vrondi gasped. "The Lord of Light and Darkness calls a human, his mother?!")

"And you didn't tell us?" Tucker yelled. "We could have played Doom all night."

Sam elbowed him as an emotion akin to annoyance and disgust crossed Danny's face, at the mention of the online game all three played. "Shut it," she whispered. "I don't think these are ordinary ghosts."

The two ghosts paled even further on hearing this exchange. Not only had the Lord been found in the human world, but he claimed familial ties with them? Human could be friends with the Lord of the Two Spectrums?

Impossible!

As one, Rouge and Crimson advanced upon him. Their lives and places within the Spectrum were forfeit, but they had to get him home before the Thulia or Octarine Triads were called out. They weren't as pleasant as the Rainbow Triads were.

Rouge whipped out a cord of seven braids, each end interwoven with golden filaments. These golden fibers paralyzed anything they touched. Ghosts couldn't phase through it and combined with Crimson's sleep dust and Rose's lightprism, humans succumbed within seconds to unconsciousness.

"Lord, I'm sorry," she apologized, seeing him trying to break through. The cord tightened its hold, binding his hands to his side. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she chose her next words carefully. "If you try to phase through it, the powder Crimson blew into their eyes will do more than send them to sleep."

Danny turned his head and saw what Rouge said was true. While he had been surprised by Rouge's attack, the other ghost had slipped around the back and removed a pinch of colorless dust and sent Sam and Tucker off to dreamland. "Why?" he asked them. "They were my friends."

* * *

(In the Ghost Zone)

"About time he returns to the right frame of mind," Vrondi muttered, only to be elbowed by Rose.

"You were human once, yourself, idiot," she reminded him.

"So were you," he retorted.

"We all once were," Soleil said, breaking them apart.

* * *

(Human World)

Crimson bowed respectfully to Danny. "Lord Phantom Grey, by order of Lady Bright, Queen of the Lighter and Darker Spectrums, you are to be turned over to the Octarine Triad for memory modification."

Danny barely had time to scream out, "Clockwork!" before he too succumbed to Crimson's sleep powder.

* * *

(Clockwork's Tower)

The Time Master heard the boy's cry, but knew not to interfere. Lady Bright was a ghost millenia older than the oldest Observant; almost a goddess to ghosts. "I'm sorry, Phantom," he said. "I dare not interfere."

* * *

(Ghost Zone--Halls of the Spectrum)

"Any idea what he was doing in the human world?" the dark-skinned man asked Crimson, as the woman in white bound her hands with silken cords.

"No, Viridian," she answered, as the woman in white led her away to join Rouge for the Lord's judgment, when he awakened.

"You can wake up now," Viridian said, roughly shaking the boy.


	4. Lady Bright

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Lady Bright

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Danny Phantom opened his eyes and promptly shut them. "Too much light," he mumbled.

"Of course, my son," a woman's lilting alto voice murmured close to his ear. "You are in the Hall of the Lighter Spectrum."

"Sam! Tucker!" Danny exclaimed, sitting up abruptly. He tried to shield his eyes from the overbearing brightness. "Ugh! Can't you do something about this?"

"Your human friends are fine," the ghost reassured him, gently laying him back down in her lap. "They do not remember any of this happening."

Danny breathed a sigh of relief.

"Would you like to be restored whole and complete?" the ghost murmured in his ear. Slowly she became more visible in the light. Her hair was jet black, parted in the middle and tied loosely with a white ribbon, and her eyes were ghost green. Her skin was pale as alabaster and her dress was an off-the-shoulder number, mottled with every color imaginable. Her feet were invisible under the folds of the dress, so he couldn't see if she wore shoes or not.

"Lady Bright?" he guessed.

"No need to be formal, my son," she said, running a hand vacantly through his hair.

Danny wanted to scream and run away, but truth to be told, he was scared. Never before had he even considered where his ghost half might have come from before they were merged. "Lady Bright, I'm not really your son. He and I merged when my parents' portal activated with me inside."

"I see," she whispered. "Go on."

"I am actually a halfa--half human and half ghost," he finished. "There is one other like unto me."

Lady Bright smiled as he said that. "Your speech betrays you, Lord of Light and Darkness. Now, would you like to be restored whole and complete?"

"Will I be able to go home?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied, running her hand through his hair again.

Danny closed his eyes and relaxed into her. It felt familiar, but he had to get home before someone noticed he was missing. "To the human world, I mean," he explained.

"Of course, my son. You will have access to the human world," she smiled down at him, laughing as he tried to put his hair back in its messy array.

Summoned unseen, a short squat man with colorless eyes and coal-black skin appeared in, what Danny thought, was a doorway. He formally bowed to Lady Bright and gazed curiously at the boy with his head on her lap. He did not smile.

"It has been a long time since the Halls of the Spectrum have heard your laughter, my queen," he said, bowing formally once more.

"Viridian, young Phantom Grey has agreed to go through the malachite ring. When he has done so, have him perform the task. Then we will truly know if he is our son or not."

Danny took in Viridian's squat features, his close-cropped brown hair and loose-fitting brown trousers, white vest which fit snugly against his chest, and cloak of teal feathers. "Aqua Triad?" he guessed, noting the odd color of the ring-shaped bloodcrystal pendant he wore around his neck on a white lanyard. Dark Spectrum.

"Octarine," came the correction. "There is no Aqua Triad."

"Maybe that is why he was in the human realm?" Lady Bright guessed, laughing at the thought.

Danny ignored her as he followed Viridian out into another blinding hallway. "Viridian?" he asked.

"Yes, my lord," came the reply.

"I am called Dan'el," came the odd inflection in his voice. It was happening again.

Viridian's eyebrows rose sharply in surprise. "It is an honor that you share your private name with me, Lord of Light and Darkness. Now, if you will, step this way, please. Tenné will modify your memories."

Danny swallowed. What had he just agreed to? He had a bad feeling about this.

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A/N: Lady Bright lied to Danny. Sam and Tucker

**do**** remember.**

**Viridian (male) - Dark Spectrum, Octarine Triad**

**Lady Bright- Dan'el Phantom Grey's mother, Queen of the Spectrums**


	5. Blue Worlds

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman.

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Blue Worlds

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Tenné wore the traditional desert dweller's robe, consisting of an inner robe of dark brown with long wide sleeves, held shut by a cream and burgundy striped sash-girdle, an outer robe hanging open, with cream and burgundy vertical stripes, and natural leather sandals. Danny could see that he was about 70 years old with long, grayish-white hair, mustache and full beard and the colorless eyes he'd come to associate with one of the strange Spectrum ghosts.

"This is Tenné of the Orange Triad," Viridian explained as they came to a halt before another set of tall, dark ornate doors.

Tenné nodded before speaking. "These doors," the old man said, "lead to the Halls of the Darker Spectrum. Lady Bright has informed me of your coming, Lord of Light and Darkness."

Danny shook his head. _Must have been the expression on my face._

Tenné raised his deep bass voice. "Inside you will find a large ring of malachite, half embedded in the floor. Pass through."

"That is all I must do?" Danny inquired.

Tenné nodded his hoary head. "That is all."

"Something else, Lord," Viridian said, putting a cold hand on the youth's shoulder. "Lady Bright's task. You will know what must be done when you pass through the ring."

"Could I ask another question?" Danny queried.

"Ask," Viridian murmured, eyes flicking to the doors.

"Why does Tenné neither wear black, white, or the colors of his triad? He doesn't even wear the same crystal necklace you and what was her name--Crimson?--wear."

"It is not mandatory," Viridian answered. "Most of us choose to identify ourselves with the time period we were born into as well as with our triads. The Thulian and Octarinian Triads wear white show our allegiance to Lady Bright; the Rainbow Triads wear black to show their allegiance to you, Lord of Light and Darkness."

"You don't like me much, do you?" came the last and final question.

"The queen has not laughed in many a year since you've disappeared," came the short reply.

Tenné cleared his throat and pulled up the left sleeve on his robe showing Danny a leather thong beaded with tiny red-orange bloodcrystal beads. "They're not always worn as a pendant," he murmured, before pushing the doors open for the boy.

Danny steeled his himself for whatever or whomever he might find inside.

"You're doing this to save Sam and Tucker," he reminded himself.

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A/N: Below is the physical description of Tenné. I used a book on period costumes to describe him and the other triadic ghosts you will meet as the story progresses.

**Tenné- male, Dark Spectrum, Orange Triad**

wears traditional desert dweller's robe:

***inner robe of dark brown with long wide sleeves, held shut by a cream and burgundy striped sash-girdle

***outer robe-hangs open, cream and burgundy vertical stripes

***natural leather sandals

***about 70 years old, grayish-white hair, mustache and full beard; colorless eyes

***wears under left sleeve: black leather thong beaded with tiny red-orange bloodcrystal beads


	6. Woman in the Darkness

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Woman in the Darkness

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The room beyond was large, dark and airy. Mirrors of polished obsidian glittered in the glowing bloodcrystals lining the walls.

Half-embedded in the center of the room was the malachite ring spoken of by Viridian. Two glowing pillars of the same bloodcrystal stood guard on either side of it. The space between the ring's edge did not shimmer like water or show any visions like Danny had seen before when watching the Sci-fi Channel with Tucker.

"Too many _Stargate _marathons," he muttered to himself.

On the other side of the ring, a woman about his own age watched him. She stood guard over the prone forms of Rouge and Crimson, who were bound with what appeared to be white ribbons.

"I am Magnolia of the Octarine Triad," she greeted him.

Danny took note of her alabaster white hair. It was pulled up in a classical style ponytail and held back by a silver beaded white band. She wore a transparent white Doric-style chiton, unseamed and opened at the side. Her earrings were of bloodcrystal--silver star-shaped teardrops with fresh-water pearl centers. The straps of her gown also contain fresh-water pearls sewn onto it.

He winced. Who knew Lancer's history of clothing project would be ingrained into his brain, considering he'd barely paid attention to the lesson at the time?

"What is it with the glowing stones and the pendants the Darker Spectrum wears?" he asked.

"Bloodcrystal is a rare mineral obtained from the blood of a ghost," Magnolia said, fingering her earrings. "It is used to identify those of the Darker Spectrum, to provide warmth and light for our people, and to direct and guide our paths."

"It also comes in many colors," Danny observed.

"Correct, Lord of Light and Darkness. Step through the ring, Lord Phantom Grey."

* * *

Sam moaned as she came to. "Ugh!"

Next to her, Tucker stirred, crying out Danny's name.

Jack put aside the notebook he'd been writing in and rushed to the decontamination chambers. "Sorry, kids, to put you through this, but until I can isolate the chemicals that made the powder the ghosts used on you, you'll have to rough it out in here."

"There is no time for that, Mr. Fenton," Sam told him, coming fully awake. "The ghosts that attacked us took Danny."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Tell me exactly what happened."

Tucker sat up and listened as Sam repeated verbatim the conversation between Danny and the ghosts. _Does she have an eidetic_ _memory or what?_

Sam fished around in her spider backpack for the book and after two minutes, withdrew it with a cry of triumph. She opened it to the page with the double portrait of Danny.

"Danny and Phantom are one? My son is a ghost?" Jack asked slackjawed. "Impossible."

"But not improbable," Tucker replied. "It all started with the portal...."

* * *

The ring glowed brighter as Danny approached. He took a deep breath and plunged in, then emerged out the other side.

"That's it?" he asked, blinking in confusion.

Magnolia smiled. "That's it," she said. "Now as to your task, Lord Phantom Grey, what is to be done with these two who dared to attack you?" She indicated Rouge and Crimson, who were now looking up at him with wide fearful eyes.

Danny couldn't respond. He was frozen in time. He felt himself die. There was no other way to describe the change. His screams echoed in the soundless vortex of light and dark that arose around him; the metamorphosis storm swirled with all the force of a hurricane.

Rouge whimpered as the Lord's youthful frame vanished. In the shadows, she could see his height increase and his hair grow down to his shoulder blades. "Please no,"she moaned.

Crimson's lips tightened. "He's come home, Rouge. We attacked Lady Bright's only child. We have earned our fate."

The vortex abated, showing the Lord of Light and Darkness in his dark guise. His blue eyes staring down at his hand. "I remember," he murmured. "Clockwork has much to answer for his crimes."

"As do these, Lord Phantom," Magnolia said, forcing the girls to their knees.

He barely glanced at them, before his form was engulfed in pure light. Standing there in his light visage, he narrowed his emerald gaze at the two females before him.

"You are of the Red Triad?" he queried.

"Yes," the girls answered in unison.

"Restore their eye color," he commanded.

Crimson's cry echoed with Rouge's went unheard by the Lord of Light and Darkness. He had an appointment with the Master of Time to keep.

**Author's Note:**

**Magnolia--female, Darker Spectrum, Octarine Triad**


	7. Missing River

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Missing River

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"We have been made pariahs!" Rouge yelled, as Magnolia wrestled her into the stasis cell.

"The Lord of Light and Darkness has spoken," Magnolia answered, closing the lid over the Red Triad sisters.

Crimson turned her head and laced her fingers with those of her sister. "At least we are alive."

"But for how long?" Rouge countered, her voice growing sleepy as the cell's temperature began to drop. Both girls closed their eyes and succumbed to the stasis spell.

* * *

The lair of the Time Master was a formidable labyrinth to navigate, but the son of Lady Bright was expected. An Observant, one of Clockwork's minions, ushered the Lord of Light and Darkness into the receiving chambers of the Time King.

"Do you understand now what is to be human, Dan'el?" the Time Master inquired of the Lord of Light and Darkness, who was now returned to his dark form.

Phantom gave him an angry glare with his cobalt-blue eyes. "I came to you with a simple question, Time Master. Instead, I am cast to the four winds of the mortal realm."

"You received your answer," Clockwork said giving him a knowing look.

"You turned me into one of _them_!" Phantom spat. "Turned me into a _halfa!"_

"It was necessary," Clockwork replied, opening a viewing portal. "See what has happened while you have been here."

_"What are you going to do, Mr. Fenton?" the human boy asked._

"Tucker," Phantom murmured, tracing his human friend's face.

_"We're his best friends," Sam added, when the heavy-weight champion of ghost hunters shot down her request to come with him._

_The man hesitated, then nodded in agreement._

"They wear my colors," Phantom murmured. "They could almost be considered a Triad."

"Perhaps," Clockwork replied. "Perhaps not."

Phantom shook his head. "No, they will never be a Triad. Nor am I going back to the human world."

"Never is a long time, Danny," the Time Master answered to the empty air as it rippled in the aftershock of Phantom's teleportation. "Strange, he did not react to the girl like he normally would have done.

* * *

"Mother!" Dan'el shouted, his light form blazing in the Halls of the Darker Spectrum.

"What, my son?" Lady Bright said, appearing an instant after his call.

"The hunters of our people come," the Lord of Light and Darkness announced. "You said they would not remember."

"I see," Lady Bright's eyes lowered in anger. "Call forth the Indigo Triad."

Dan'el nodded, his face expressionless. "As you wish it, my lady."

Lady Bright let out a deep sigh. "One other thing, Dan'el."

He froze in the doorway. "My Lady?"

"Give this to Magnolia," Lady Bright said, placing a black ring of bloodcrystal with a rune pattern in pearl-and-diamond in his hand.

He stared. "What is it?"

"It is customary for those completing the bonding ceremony to exchange gifts. This is Magnolia's time for bonding. It very rarely happens among the Triads. The last ones to be bonded were Rose of the Red Triad and Vrondi of the Blue Triad."

He raised his eyebrows. There was much he did not remember of his former life.

"She will offer you her bond gift. Take it. Wear it."

"So you have wished it, my lady," he bowed formally, before exiting the chamber.

Lady Bright smiled. She'd much rather see her son bonded to a Triadic ghost than to a mere human child. Oh, she knew that Clockwork had deliberately stolen her son and manipulated the timestream to mate her son to a mortal girl with the Gift.

She knew her son had gone to the Time Master to seek his mate.

She would not let it come to pass.

"French!" she called, her voice carrying through the Halls of the Spectrums.


	8. River in the Emerald

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

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River in the Emerald

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The cherubic child recited in her high, syrupy sweet tone:

_"Nine great princes rule the Zone;_

_Nine great hearts stand alone._

_The land of flame where time stands still,_

_The silent guardian of word and will._

_The lord of the halls of dark and light,_

_The silent void beyond the night._

_Nine great princes rule the Zone;_

_Nine great hearts stand alone._

_A wish to twist reality,_

_A kiss to grant immortality,_

_Fire's crown and ringing rage doth sleep,_

_Justice's banner will fly and leap._

_Nine great princes rule the Zone;_

_Nine great hearts stand alone._

_The first prince watches, guides the rest,_

_Keeping silence vigilance._

_By the stream, he stands to wait,_

_For the close of time's last gate._

_Nine great princes rule the Zone;_

_Nine great hearts stand alone."_

Clockwork nodded to himsef and recite their names from memory. "Aragon Draakona, the Nightmare Paladin, Dan'el Phantom Grey, Nocturne Somnus. Desari of the Golden Lights, Aione Kitthyris, the Black Outcast, the Rule Maker," he sighed. "And myself."

Saturn closed his eyes. "Now to find Phantom's ghost tamer."

* * *

Danny sat down on a bench in an alcove off of the Grand Piazza, which separated the Halls of both Spectrums. He opened his hand and stared down at the ring and sighed. Staring at a marble fountain carved to resemble ghost and human children kneeling in gratitude at the feet of the Queen of the Triads, he became lost in his own thoughts.

_I'm lost. I am the only son of Lady Bright, yet I am still Danny Fenton, a halfa child of incompetent ghost hunters. I don't know what I really want or need. Clockwork told me that in order to understand humans, I had to become one. Mother told me that I would have access to the human world and that my friends would forget about me. I blindly obeyed her and entered the malachite ring. She lied and they're coming here with my human father to bring me back._

Danny looked down at his feet.

_The question really bothering me should be: Is if they do come for me, will I really want to go back to the human world with them? _

Shaking that thought from his mind, he rose to feet, stretched and crossed the square to where a Triadic ghost in French chevalier garb was waiting for him at the Doors.

* * *

Jack swallowed as the castle of the Time Master drew nearer. "His trail leads us here, kids. Are you absolutely sure this 'Clockwork' person is benevolent?"

"Only if you don't rile him up," Tucker replied, giving a short yelp when Sam jabbed her elbow in his ribs. "That hurt, Sam."

"I know," she replied, giving him an angry glare. "Mr. Fenton, Clockwork is the only person who might possibly know how to find Danny. I trust him."

Jack sighed and switched the gears to landing mode. "That's all we can do, then. Let's go and find my son."

The trio alighted from the Specter Speeder and began the perilous journey up the rocky outcrop that led to Clockwork's lair.

* * *

The Triadic ghost had long black hair that fell in waves to his shoulders. He wore black justacorps with platinum platinum scrollwork, black knee breeches and stockings and a white ruffled shirt and cravat. His waistcoat was white and on his feet were high-heeled, solid black squared-toed shoes.

Adjusting the smallsword in its shoulder belt, he bowed low to the Lord of Light and Darkness as he approached the Doors to the Indigo Wing. "Not all of us deign to wear full white regalia, my lord," the chevalier said by way of introduction. "I am French of the Thulian Triad, at your service."

Phantom Grey smiled. "Weren't you wearing a corset, blouse and skirt the last time I saw you?"

"I lost a bet to Persimmon and Psyche of the Orange and Purple Triads," he replied. "And between you and me: whalebone bites."

Phantom Grey threw back his head and laughed. "I have missed thy company, good friend."

"Have thee a request, son of the Lady?" French inquired.

"Human butchers of our people approach our borders. Take the Indigo Triad and watch them. Do nothing, but watch. Only act if ordered to do so by Mother or myself," Phantom commanded.

"As you wish, my good fellow. A lady of the Octarine Triad doth await thy bonding gift, if my eyes do not deceive me," French said, bowing once more with a flourish.

"Bow any lower and your plumed hat will touch thy feet," Phantom told him wearily.

"I have been slain," French moaned, pantomiming his death, while exiting the room.

Danny rolled his eyes; French's theatrics were worse than Tucker's every time Sam killed him in Doom.

**

* * *

**

Author's Note

**French-male, Lighter Spectrum, Thulia Triad**

**Persimmon-female, Lighter Spectrum, Orange Triad**

**Thistle-female, Darker Spectrum, Purple Triad**


	9. Eyes of Silver

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

**

* * *

**

Eyes of Silver

* * *

"You are here sooner than I expected," Clockwork's voice came from the room beyond them.

Jack turned to face the fearsome ghost of Time. He, he supposed it was a he, was a head taller than Jack with flaming pupiless eyes and skin of light blue. His cloak was a shade darker than his skin tone, his hair jet black, and a grandfather clock pierced his chest. The cloak was held in place by a clock gear.

"Father Time, I presume?" Jack joked, extending one hand.

Sam inhaled sharply as Clockwork regarded the ghost hunter sharply, then smiled and shook Jack's hand.

"Exhale," Clockwork told her without turning around.

"What do you mean 'we're here sooner than expected'?" Tucker asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

"I had expected to find Phantom's ghost tamer, but instead she comes to me," Clockwork answered, smiling at Sam, who managed to blush and look puzzled at the same time.

"Come again?" Jack asked.

Clockwork extended his chronostaff towards a viewing portal in reply. The same child, as before, began reciting a new rhyme:

_"Each prince's heart be wild and free_

_Until the tamer tame thee._

_A prince bonds with love and gold_

_Immortal until the tamer grows old. _

_When the tamer succumbs to death,_

_The great prince follows with his breath._

_Nine great princes rule the Zone,_

_Nine great hearts rule alone."_

"What is a ghost tamer, Clockwork?"

"Who are the princes?"

"What the heck does all this have to do with my son?"

Clockwork held up one hand to ward off the onslaught of questions spewing from the trio of ghost hunters in front of him. "One at a time, please. Samantha, I see you brought the book I gave you. Why don't you read the entry for Danny for us?"

Sam swallowed and opened the book.

_The Lord of Light and Darkness is one of the nine great ruling princes of the Ghost Zone. He is the only son of Lady Bright, the Queen of the Rainbow. Phantom Grey, as his name indicates, has two forms (see picture above). His dark form is the view visitors are granted upon meeting him; the light form is when he sits in judgment, is extremely agitated, or meets with the Royal Council._

_Nothing else is known at this time about this prince, except that the lands of the Far Frozen come under his territory as well as those nearest the human portals._

"It doesn't say anything about this 'ghost tamer'," Tucker said, peering at the book.

"Flip to the second chapter, third entry from the bottom," Clockwork replied.

_Ghost Tamer: One who brings death to a ghost._

Tucker blinked. "That doesn't make sense."

"I have to agree with you there," Sam replied, shutting the book. "So what you're telling us, Clockwork, is that the whole reason I was born was to kill Danny?"

"Yes," came the reply. "Each of the ruling ghosts has a tamer. When they meet, as they are fated to do, the tamer quickly in a matter of seconds, grows old and becomes dust on the wind, unless...."

"Unless what?" Jack asked.

"Unless there is an intervention," came the response. "Samantha, do you still have the ring Danny gave you."

"The one with 'Wes' written on the inside band? Yeah," she said, pulling out the chain she wore it on around her neck.

Clockwork exhaled sharply. His next question pierced the cold air surrounding them. "Do you love him, Samantha?"

Violet eyes widened. "What does this have to do with Danny, Clockwork? Why the twenty questions routine?"

Clockwork's stoic gaze made her flinch. "Haven't you been listening, child? You are his tamer."

* * *

The Indigo Triad took their positions at the border as the Green, Thulia, and Purple Triads secured the perimeter behind them.

Dan'el Phantom Grey entered the Halls of the Darker Spectrum, his eyes picking out Persimmon of the Orange Triad, who guarded the Doors of Bonding.

"A gift is required to enter within," she told him. "Even you must obey these rules, son of the Lady."

"Mother gives her blessing to this union," he answered. "I have been asked to give Magnolia this gift for her bonding." He opened the palm of his hand, revealing the rune-scribed ring within.

Persimmon's breath hitched in her throat. "So, it has finally happened," she murmured. "Enter, Lord of Light and Darkness."

Dan'el Phantom Grey observed this Triadic ghost carefully as she stepped aside for him. She wore her midnight dark hair spilled down her back like a cascading waterfall, with orange and black feathers rounding off the ends. Her reddish-brown skin set off nicely the butter-cream color of her fringed gown and moccasins. Her eyes, as always, were the colorless orbs of the Spectrum ghosts.

"And remember, Lord Phantom," she said, as the door opened for him, "To exit, you must take her bonding gift in return."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Persimmon--female, Orange Triad, Lighter Spectrum**


	10. Rising Silver

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

**

* * *

**

Rising Silver

* * *

"They will be prepared, Samantha. You have prior claim on the boy," Clockwork instructed the ghost hunters. "They cannot dispute this; it is part and parcel of their laws."

"What if Danny doesn't want to come back?" Jack asked the Time Master.

Sam nodded. "What if he doesn't love me in return?"

Tucker scowled silently and made no remark.

Clockwork shook his head. "Too many if's in your words. What will happen will happen. Remember: the future is fluid like water--ever changing, not set in stone. If you are clever, dear child, the Zone will be one step forward to being what it should be."

Tucker cleared his throat. "I hope you meet your ghost tamer, Clockwork, and she hates your guts."

Clockwork whapped him on the head with his staff. Shifting to his child form, he pointed towards the Spectre Speeder. "Enough cheek, insolent child. So you have figured out that much. Go. Save your friend."

Jack nodded and bundled the kids off to the waiting vehicle. "Thank you," he told the Time Ghost sincerely.

Clockwork nodded.

When they were airborne, Sam spun around in her seat. "What did he mean 'so you have figured out that much'?"

"Clockwork is one of the nine great princes he was talking about. His territory lies inside and outside of Time," Tucker replied. "While he was talking to you, the child who spoke that rhyme about the tamer, she recited another rhyme revealing the names of the other great princes. I think I've figured them all out."

Jack said nothing, while Sam threatened to throttle Tucker if he didn't divulge the rest of his information.

Tucker pushed her away. "No," he answered. "You don't need to know that information. We need to know more about these Triadic ghosts. What else does your book say, Sam?"

Sam flipped a few chapters and found the entry on Lady Bright, mother of Dan'el Phantom Grey, the Lord of Light and Darkness.

* * *

Rose hugged Rouge and Crimson tightly as they staggered into the Mirror Chamber. "You are alright! Thank the Lady!"

Vrondi gasped and drew away from them. "Your eyes! Get away from them, Rose. Look at their eyes."

Rose regarded her sisters thoughtfully. "Your right, Vrondi. I never thought Rouge would have dark brown eyes. I always imagined her with spring-green orbs."

Rouge blushed slightly. "All my family had dark-colored eyes," she admitted.

Crimson batted her baby-blues at Dodger, another member of the Blue Triad who was reading the Mirror intensely, watching the Triads take up their positions on the perimeter of the Spectrum lands. "Any good?"

"No," he replied, flipping his tangled brown hair out of his face. He raised his eyebrows at her in surprise. "Blue eyes like the sky at twilight. My favorite color."

Crimson blushed. "Are you asking me to bond?" she demanded hotly.

"Yo, can't we get back to the subject at hand?" Saffron politely asked from her corner of the room.

Goldenrod knocked on her head. "Nope, no one's home," he announced.

Saffron threw her book at him. "Grow up," she told him.

Midnight rolled his eyes. "Soleil, we need to identify the tamer before she comes for the Lord. Lady Bright was most specific in her instructions."

Rouge found it comforting that none of the Blue and Yellow Triads (with the exception of Vrondi) were discomforted by the return of their eye color. This was a good sign. Rose was too good-hearted to care.

She gazed around the central chamber and noted everyone present.

Rose was wearing a blue-and-white swirled gown with petticoats instead of hoopskirts today. Saffron wore khaki skort, black foam flipflops with daisies on them, a green-and-gold swirled t-shirt, and thin wire-rimmed glasses. Her thick bushy blonde hair was pulled back with a bloodcrystal headband.

Goldenrod and Midnight both wore black sweats with their triadic colors running up the side seams and scuffed-up grey running shoes. They were identical twins in every sense of the word, right down the bloodcrystal earrings they wore.

Dodger was Lighter Spectrum and just wore jeans, no shirt, black hiking sandals, and a backwards blue baseball cap proclaiming he was a pround fan of Ghosta Cola.

Vrondi and Soleil, like Rose, wore the clothes they were most comfortable with. Vrondi was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman from the mid-14th century and had chin-length straight chestnut hair cut in a bob around a diamond face and long thick lashes. He wore a cote-hardie (gown for men and women worn during 14th and 15th centuries) of black velvet, with large sapphire and gold buttons; gold embroidery ran up and down the long, close-fitting sleeves; a belt of gold and sapphire links encircled his hips, while a bluish-grey cloak fastened on the right shoulder with gold buttons and had dagged edges; white hose and shoes of gold and black brocade completed his ensemble. How he could move in all that get-up, she couldn't figure out.

Soleil, on the other hand, had short curly hair--top half wheat gold, bottom half dark as pitch and a long sleeved banana yellow ruffled shirt; short white pleated skirt with a wide belt; black leggings with yellow dog's tooth stripes and soft shoes of doeskin which fasten with ties over the insteps.

"You look like an Amazon," Rouge told her, sitting down next to her.

"I am Phrygian," Soleil retorted.

"Was. You're a Triadic ghost now," Rouge answered. "Let's start with what we know."

"We know the tamer is female," Midnight said. "Who are the females closest to the Lord?"

"A ghost hunter who he called mother and an older female named Jazz," Crimson responded, jogging her memory.

"What about the girl who doesn't belong to a Triad?" Rose suggested. "It could be her."

"Possibly," said Saffron, "but the Lord didn't die upon contact with her, from what the Mirror showed us."

"Could have been his human half," Dodger replied. "When he went through the ring of malachite, he lost that protection."

Soleil waved her hands for attention. "Here they come!" she shouted.

"It's the girl, the one he was so possessive about," Rouge announced, jumping to her feet. "She's come with two other humans. A Triad."

"They are NOT a Triad, Rouge," Crimson said, forcing her to sit down. "How many do I have to tell you that?"

"I don't know," Rouge quipped. "I lost count."

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

**Dodger--male, Blue Triad, Lighter Spectrum**

**Goldenrod--male, Yellow Triad, Darker Spectrum**

**Midnight--male, Blue Triad, Darker Spectrum**

**Saffron--female, Yellow Triad, Darker Spectrum**


	11. Dark Boy

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

**

* * *

**

Dark Boy

* * *

"Send Saffron," Midnight sighed, really tired of listening to the squabbling of his fellow Triads.

"What?" the girl asked, yanking her head out of the book she'd been reading.

"_Magic's Price?" _Rouge paused, yanking the book out of her hand. She flipped through the book and handed it back in disgust. "Pure unadulterated trash."

"Don't dis my book and I won't dis your fashion sense," Saffron retorted, standing up. "Yeah, Midnight, I'm on it."

Placing her face in Rouge's, she hissed, "I like Mercedes Lackey's works. She is really talented and makes her characters so life-like that you wish you could journey inside her worlds." Saffron pivoted about on one foot and stormed out the door.

Rouge had one hand on her hip, mouth agape.

"Catching flies?" Dodger asked in the room's abrupt silence.

* * *

"Yes," Saffron answered. "The Mirror confirms it."

"Then we are now on the offense," Sakura said evenly, calling for French and Cerise.

* * *

"May I sit?" the Lord of Light and Darkness asked politely.

Magnolia blushed and nodded, her eyes not rising from the floor.

"Do you know to whom you will bond?" Phantom asked.

She shook her head.

"Mother has asked me to give this to you as your bonding gift," Danny told her, placing the ring in her hand. "Please accept it."

Magnolia slowly raised her eyes to meet his. "Lady Bright gave this to you, my Lord?" she cautiously asked.

"Yes," he replied. "Will you accept it as your bonding gift?"

"I do," she said, allowing him to place it on her left ring finger. "Will you accept a bonding gift in return?"

"As you accepted mine, I do yours," he answered, nervous for some reason.

Beyond the Doors of Bonding, Phantom surveyed the beautiful icy garden wrapped in deep winter sleep. It was peaceful and beautiful here. He swallowed as he watched Magnolia remove her earrings and use her magic to flow the gems and metals together, forming another ring with silver runes inscribed, matching the ones on the ring he'd given her.

She slipped it onto his own ring finger. Pressing her lips first to his palm then to his lips, she murmured, "Now is the ceremony of bonding complete."

Dan'el's eyes were bright. "Are you the one?" he asked, holding her to him, pressing her head against his fluttering heart.

"Now is the bonding complete," she repeated.

"Yes," he murmured, "but I am not yet whole. There is still the tamer to come."

"Then let her come," Magnolia said, smirking down at her rune-scribed ring. "I will not give you up."

* * *

"We are now on the offense," French announced, stalking back to the Indigo Triad.

Tyria cracked his nuckles, indicating he was ready. He was a Caucasian male with spiky sandy hair, eyes devoid of color, and could easily pass for being someone's bodyguard or a professional body builder. He never spoke. He was outfitted in camouflage pants, black t-shirt with torn off sleeves and black chunky military boots. The only thing missing--his dog tags.

The other specialists in the Indigo Triad were more to French's tastes.

Amethyst was a petite Asian girl with luxuriantly long black hair the color of onyx streaked with amethyst highlights, which she wore pinned by a pair of ivory and bloodcrystal hair sticks--leaving her bangs to frame her heart-shaped face. Her oriental style dress was black with embroidery depicting a white dragon holding a lotus blossom in his foreclaws with elaborate emerald and gold scroll work at sleeves, throat and hem.

Plume, on the other hand, was dusky hued, with some Latin-Asian heritage in him; his slightly slanted eyes were the proof, French thought. He wore 19th century Victorian gentleman's garb in a soft dove grey, a top hat of the same color and a ebony cane with a polished knob of sapphire bloodcrystal. He was soft-spoken and a gentleman, even in battle. French's man to the end.

"Let them come," Amethyst purred.

* * *

Author's Note:

Never insult a bookworm's favorite indulgence, Rouge.

**Cerise--female, Thulia Triad, Darker Spectrum**

**Sakura--male, Thulia Triad, Lighter Spectrum**

"Are you absolutely sure?" Sakura of the Thulian Triad asked, his eyes focused on the approaching enemy.


	12. First Rings, Last Light

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom."

**

* * *

**

First Rings, Last Light

* * *

"I think we've landed in the middle of a costume party," Tucker mused out loud. "Are you sure these are the right coordinates, Mr. Fenton?"

"Yes, Tucker," Jack said, looking at the scrawny teen in the red beret and outlandish clothes. "Phantom's ecto-signature is weak, but it is pointing us through this area."

"We're outnumbered 12:3. No way, we're going to make it out of this alive," Tucker moaned.

"Whether I make it out of here alive or not, I'm going in," Jack declared, firing up the Fenton Bazooka. "He's my son. I owe this to him."

* * *

"Lady Bright says to escort them through," Cerise said, her face proclaiming thunder. "She wishes to speak with them."

"This has bad idea written all over it," Forest grumbled from behind her.

"I concur, but we do not question orders," Cerise reminded him.

* * *

Sam felt the hostility roll off the Triadic ghosts like steam off hot soup. She gulped. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she whispered to Tucker.

"Cowardly custard," he teased.

"Tucker!"

* * *

"If you go out to them, you'll leave us and never come back," Magnolia told him, clutching the corner of his robes.

"I am tied to the ghost tamer," he explained, gently pulling away from her. "Magnolia, I am bonded to you, but the tamer holds my heart. If you wish for me to be whole, I must go and face her."

"I love you, Lord of Light and Darkness," she whispered, as he took her hand and opened the doors, leading them from the winter gardens.

"It's Dan'el," he murmured. "My name is Dan'el."

"I love you, Lord Dan'el," she repeated.

He kissed the top of her head. "And I you, my lovely Grecian flower."

* * *

"Lilac!" Sam heard the French musketeer ghost call out to one of the females, the only one she could see with colored eyes--a beautiful lavender gold, if she'd been close enough to see them.

The girl, holding a gold-bound tome in her hands, looked up hesitantly. She was beautiful and had a vacant expression on her face. Her hair was a mass of ebony spirals down to her waist and covered with a circlet of violet-dyed wool. Her skin was almost mocha-like in appearance. She wore an ankle length black gown with a wide oval neckline fitted close to her body with brass buttons running up the back; her hem was embroidered in violet. On her feet were cloth slippers with leather soles.

"Bell, book and candle!" French called out.

"Hey, French, mind your own Triad!" another ghost rapped out. "What are you trying to do? Exorcise them?"

Lilac began to move forward, ignoring the squabbling generals.

Mr. Fenton levelled the Bazooka at the approaching girl. He warily watched her. "Do not come any closer," he told her, when she was within 10 feet of them.

She opened her book and they heard bells, saw a ring of candle flames, and knew darkness.

Lilac closed her book.

* * *

"They are with her Ladyship," Persimmon announced as they emerged into the Halls of the Darker Spectrum.

"What tactic did French use?" Lord Phantom Grey asked her

"Bell, book, and candle," came the reply. "Saffron swung by and apprised us with the news from the perimeter."

"Lilac," Magnolia murmured. "Sakura will be hopping mad."

"I can imagine so," Danny murmured. "I love you."

"And I you, Lord of the Spectrums," she replied. "Come, we must go to her Ladyship. My place is at her side with those of my Triad."

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

**Lilac--female, Purple Triad, Lighter Spectrum**

**Sakura--male, Thulia Triad, Darker Spectrum**

**Forest--male, Green Triad, Darker Spectrum**

**Cerise--female, Thulia Triad, Darker Spectrum**


	13. Secrets Past

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom."

**

* * *

**

Secrets Past

* * *

"Dan'el?" his mother called, rising to her feet as he picked his way carefully past the crystalmine shards littering the floor.

"I am here," he answered back, wincing in pain as Magnolia pinched him. Before him, on either side of Lady Bright, the other two members of the Octarine Triad stood watchful guard. Viridian, he already knew, but the new ghost wasn't even remotely human. It was a cephalopod, glowing a soft pure white. It was ivory in color with cherry pink eyes.

"What is that?" he murmured to Magnolia, who looked up at him.

"Who, you mean. That's Amaranth, the silent guardian of our people. She was the first of our kind," Magnolia explained.

"Oh."

"Amaranth whispers of a ring given to the ghost tamer. Is this true?" Lady Bright was border-line furious, he could tell.

"Mother, I know not of a ring, let alone met my tamer," Magnolia heard the Lord's trembling. He was frightened by even the suggestion. "I would be mist on the wind methinks had we met anon."

"Amaranth says otherwise. She whispers of the time you spent in the human world, trapaising with the mortals. Did you give a bonding gift to the human or not?"

Lord Phantom Grey had to think and think fast. He no longer thought himself as a halfa or even remembered being human. He was a pure creature of the Ghost Zone. What had he done while in the mortal realm? Who had he given gifts to?

_I gave Tucker various computer games. To Sam, I gave a pewter bat charm bracelet for her last birthday. I wanted to give Val the ring....the ring...Oh no!_

"The ring! Sam's still holding it for me after Val and I broke up, but that can't be possible. She can't be my tamer," Danny protested. Okay, so he did retain some of his memories from the time he was human.

"Who gave you the ring?" Lady Bright questioned angrily.

"The mortal I called father," he replied, a tall burly man flashing in his mind. The name escaped him.

"By giving the ring to the ghost tamer, Dan'el, you have half completed the bonding ceremony. The girl has first claim to your heart. By completing the full ceremony with Magnolia, you have splintered it. You must rejoin thineself with thine heart, Dan'el," her eyes glittered dangerously.

Amaranth waved her tentacles.

"And you will do it now. Dan'el Phantom Grey, choose this day whether you live or die," she proclaimed, raising one hand.

Three misty forms, undeniably human, rose from the floor tiles.

Magnolia felt the Lord of the Spectrum's fear.

Would he choose her or the ghost tamer?

Jack was the first to open his eyes. Cautiously scanning the room, he felt the acid glares of various spectral entities. The danger level was off the charts. Standing off to one side, he saw the older form of his son--still a teen, but filled out more.

Danny still looked human, that he was thankful for.

"Daniel Fenton, you are grounded when we get home, young man," he sternly told his son.

Danny's eyes flashed emerald. "I am not your son," he acidly answered the ghost hunter.

One of the women in the room, pursed her lips thoughtfully. Danny shot her a look. She nodded.

When Jack stepped forward to within arms length of him, Phantom transformed. Now in his full height of power, the Lord of Light and Darkness cast no shadow. "I am not your son," he repeated. "I am the only scion of the Lady. You have no business here in our world, human."

"Danny? Is that you, man?" Tucker's sleepy voice murmured. "Wake me up when the test is over." His arm flopped back down.

Phantom mentally rolled his eyes. Tucker was the smartest kid in their class, but he was an adept when it came time for goofing off. Sleeping through class was his job, especially after a late night of fighting ghosts.

Jack watched as his otherworldly son squelched a memory. "You are still in there, Danny-boy. I believe that. Come home with us."

_

* * *

_

Do you love him?

_Do you LOVE him?_

_DO YOU LOVE HIM?_

The words echoed screamingly through Sam's mind, as she realized she was awake in a very bright place, her eyes wide open. She could hear Mr. Fenton trying to reason with Danny, who was acting more ghost-like than human. She raised herself to her elbows and sought out the object of her search.

A wave of intense hatred and fear shoved her hard back into the ground. She winced in pain. Suddenly, she was wrenched from the floor and her arms bound behind her back. A girl dressed in an old-fashioned chiton from the Classical period, forced her to her feet.

"I cannot take the ring from you, ghost tamer, but you will come with me," she ordered.

"I am not going anywhere," Sam growled at her.

"We do not want our Prince to die. We lost him once, but never again," the ghost responded.

"Where are you taking me?"

"We are going to the Halls of the Darker Spectrum, where you will pass through the hematite ring," the ghost said.

"Do you love him?" Sam asked without warning.

Magnolia shoved her forward in reply.

* * *

Author's Note:

Amaranth, more specifically, is a cuttlefish.


	14. No Savior

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

**

* * *

**

No Savior

* * *

"Why is the ring so important?" Sam asked, as Magnolia halted before a man carrying a crystal tipped spear and dressed in a black jaguar pelt and furred boots. He, like the others of his triad, guarded a set of immense doors, shaped like the skeleton of a pumpkin.

"The Lord of Light and Darkness has commanded it. Lady Bright sanctions it," Magnolia announced. "The ghost tamer goes through the hematite ring."

"Why not the malachite one?" the guard queried. "Same effects."

"Less mess," Magnolia explained.

"True," the guard replied. "Render life to the dead."

"Render death to the living," came the rejoinder as she swept past him, dragging the hapless mortal child after her, closing the doors behind her.

"Poor child," the guard said. "Not so pure, is she?"

The click of the doors shutting answered him.

"Tangerine," Magnolia told her, when they were on the other sides of the door. "The Orange Triad are the guardians of the great doors. Within the halls of the Darker Spectrum is the Doors of Bonding and the malachite ring. The Halls of the Lighter Spectrum contain many secrets, including the hematite ring."

Sam was visibly shaken. "Is he Darker Spectrum?"

"No," said Magnolia, "Tangie is Lighter Spectrum and is the only member of the Light Triads to carry a crystalshard spear. Now, listen to me carefully, human child."

Sam looked at the triadic ghost sharply.

"We are both bonded to the Lord of Light and Darkness. It is forbidden that his heart should be torn in twain, so we are both going to enter the hematite ring."

"What does the hematite ring do?" Sam asked her curiously.

"Mortal, some things are better left unanswered, but I'll tell you this one thing: It unbinds," Magnolia said, unbinding her ribbon from around Sam's wrists.

Sam rubbed her sore wrists, while trying not to gape in awe at the huge gleaming half-circle of hematite rising from the floor. A spiral of gold wire flowed in both directions over it, humming with magic. Two glowing coppering braziers stood guard on either side of it.

"We enter together," Magnolia told her.

Sam nodded, understanding that the ghost wanted Danny to live as much as she did.

* * *

"Danny, please listen to me," Jack panted, as Phantom shot a bolt of pure energy at him. "This is not who you are. You are Daniel Fenton, albeit a half-human, half-ghost, but still my son. I love you, Danny-boy."

Phantom Grey flung another bolt of energy at the human. "I am one of the Nine and my place is here at my mother's side. You claim to love me, but you bring me death! You are not my father," he shot back at the human.

"I did not want to do this, Danny, but so help me, you've forced my hand," Jack said, pulling out a small glowing mesh bag, which he flung at his son. It hit him with little force, but quickly expanded into a full-size electro-shock metal cage.

Tucker chose this pleasant time to come around.

"Where's Sam?"

The woman, who Danny had been calling mother, raised one hand and forcefully bound the humans' hands to their sides. "You sent them to the hematite ring, I suppose?" she questioned her son.

Tucker looked toward his friend, who growled angrily, but nodded. "I thought it for the best. It will unbind, but not kill. One will remain bonded to me."

"I hope to God it's Sam," Tucker murmured to Mr. Fenton.

"You and me both, boy," the ghost hunter whispered back. "You and me both."

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

**Tangerine--male, Lighter Spectrum, Orange Triad**


	15. Rubies in Moonlight

Moon Wind

By: Garnet Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

**

* * *

**

Rubies in Moonlight

* * *

On the other side of the hematite ring, Sam found a garden enfrosted in ice. Over them, low in the sky, a full moon shown in purest glory. Her eyes were drawn by the beams to a wishing well, high on a hill.

Turning toward Magnolia, she said, " I suppose all we have to do is drop a penny in, make a wish, and something is supposed to happen?"

Magnolia's mouth twitched. "Not quite," she answered. "You must bathe in the spring over yonder."

Sam stared in shock at the frozen pool. "Absolutely not!" she exclaimed.

"Do you love the Lord of Light and Darkness?" came the sharp angry question.

"How do you know all this?" Sam shot back.

"Because like you, I am a ghost tamer," came the quiet reply.

* * *

Amaranth seemed agitated, Lady Bright noticed.

"I know," she murmured to her dearest friend. "what the old time meddler is doing and it won't bode well with the Zone. I don't want to lose my son again."

Amaranth waved her tentacles.

"Ah, so Magnolia has decided to take out the Rule Maker," Lady Bright's eyes brightened. "Then we haven't lost Dan'el after all."

Lord Phantom Grey jerked his head back in her direction at this statement. "Do we really have time for that, Mother?" he asked her.

Jack and Tucker exchanged glances. They had lost Danny to the ghosts, that was obvious as whip cream on strawberry shortcake, but when it had been explained to them where Sam had been taken, sourness hit their stomaches. Something bad was about to happen.

Lady Bright vanished.

* * *

Sam folded her clothes neatly and stepped into the spring. The coldness of the gold ring and chain against her skin made her shiver. She heard another splash beside her and turned in its direction. Magnolia remerged a few feet away.

"Wow, this is cold!" she exclaimed, her brown eyes laughing with delight.

Wait. Brown eyes? Were those streaks of bronze in the ivory tresses?

Sam blinked. "Your eyes and hair have color now."

Magnolia nodded. "The River is unbinding my very being. I am returning to being human."

Sam was alarmed at this new revelation. "It's not going to turn me into a ghost, is it?"

"No," Lady Bright's cool voice came the bank behind them. "That is an option to be considered though. Girls, come out of the water, please. We need to talk."

"Yes, ma'am," Magnolia answered, grabbing Sam's arm. "Come on."

Lady Bright's smile was making Sam more nervous by the second.

* * *

The rune-scribed ring on Danny's hand, shattered into tiny fragments and dissolved. Danny bowed his head in silence and clutched his hand to his heart. Tucker was worried for his best friend.

"Danny, everything okay, man?"

"No!" the Lord of Light and Darkness snarled. "Magnolia is no longer one of the Triads, so the bonding is undone. I may not take another in bonding."

"What happened to Samantha?" Jack quietly asked, as the glowing bands binding him and Tucker vanished.

Lady Bright reappeared a few moments later, holding a ring in her hand. She waved her other hand and the cage surrounding Phantom disappeared. "It's out of my hands, Dan'el. Go to her."

Dan'el took the ring from his mother. It was the same one he'd given to Sam, but changed. The ring no longer looked like a high school class ring, but sported a new rune-scribed slender gold band with tiny sapphires and amethysts dotting it in intervals. "I cannot," he whispered. "One bonding, as the law allows."

"The law has taken the recent events into account. You were not formally bonded to Magnolia, who is no more. She has gone to the Rule Maker."

Phantom Grey rose to his feet, searching his mother's eyes. "Are you sure about this?"

"Go," came the command. "Do not make me regret sowing your seed."

The Lord of Light and Darkness, a strange light shimmering in his eyes, saluted the Queen of the Triads, and vanished.

"Seed? A new bonding? These ghosts are giving me a headache," Jack grumbled to no one.

* * *

"I heard from Jade, who heard from Rose, who heard from Dodger, we have a new triadic ghost. What did Lady Bright do with the ghost tamer? The Mirror can't find her anymore," Goldenrod grumbled, refocusing the scene on Persimmon's post.

"Go back to your spying," Midnight smirked. "I can't wait to see this."

* * *

Persimmon examined the ring. "A true bonding of love this time," she said, smiling.

"Or my ashes, you will sweep up," Phantom told her cryptically, as he shut the door.

As before, a garden setting awaited him, but the element this time was of fire. Midnight and crimson, ruby and gold, deepest sapphire and silver all intermingled as he strode down the clear crysolite path to his destiny.

He found her sitting on a wood-and-iron bench with ornate scrollwork , watching the sunset. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, sitting beside her.

"Yes," she answered, turning her colorless eyes towards him. He smiled and slid the ring on her finger.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her deeply.

"And I you," she murmured, wrapping her arms around him and drawing him in deeply.

He pulled backward after the sun had set and examined her closely. She was dressed in the deepest red, a dress of fall leaves and rose vines with bell sleeves. No shoes on her feet. Her hair was the deep red of her dress, cascading in waves to her knees, with tiny gold bloodcrystals woven into her hair. "Wouldn't wear white?"

"Not my color," she told him. "My name is Falu."

"Then Falu, it is," he murmured.

"She said your name is Dan'el, sir. I don't remember who I was, except that I was human before this," Falu said.

"You passed through the hematite ring," he explained. "It unbinds and steals."

She remained silent, digesting this information. "You should see to the ghost tamer and the other humans," she said. "Lady Bright said this was your task."

"The ghost tamer has been dealt with," Dan'el told her. "Mother has explained everything to the ghost hunters and has sent them back to their world."

Falu clasped a gold armband in the shape of a running wolf around his forearm. "My bonding gift to you," she told him.

Dan'el's heart ached for the fiery soul of Sam, but his heart burned for this quiet gentle spirit that stood before him. "I love you, Sam," he murmured, drawing her closer.

"I love you too, Danny," Falu whispered, wondering where the familiar name sprang from.

As the full moon rose behind him over the waters, the gentle midnight wind caressed the lovers and swept the glad tidings to Time's Last Gate, the dwelling of the first prince.

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

**Falu--female, Darker Spectrum, Octarine Triad (replaces Magnolia, who is no more) **

**There will be 3 forthcoming side stories to address a few missing scenes:**

**(1) The Unbinding--conversation between Magnolia, Sam and Lady Bright--some background on the origins of the Spectral Triads and Lady Bright**

**(2) Afterwards--what happens when Jack and Tucker return home **

**(3) Time's Last Gate-- when Dan'el and Clockwork next meet**

**I, for one, would like to hear Magnolia's story. I'll probably work on it for the winter, as I have more than enough to work on for the rest of this year.**


End file.
